It is often expressed that the road to success and greatness is adorned not with ornaments or the finest of gold or silver but with thorns and thistles. This expression has found meaning with the many generations gone by when hard work is valued and appreciated. Those are the days during the advent of the Colonial rules in the West African sub region which Nigeria belonged to. The British Imperialists have as part of their colonial agenda to teach the blacks their western lifestyles by establishing miniature schools where early converts to the ways of the Whites were taught. Those early converts were said to have remained faithful and diligently observed the teachings of the White man. Many others were said to have remained largely sceptical of the White man and his culture and preferred to cling to own culture against every odd. Those who drifted to the White men teachings pounded the ground to attend to these miniature schools located far and in between several locations.
Today, it is on record that the black man owe it’s early emancipation from the White Imperialists to these set of early adventurists into Western education. They were the ones who took charge of the new African territories left in their care by the Whites after a horrendous struggle for Independence, because they could now read, write and do all manner of things in the White man’s way. They were the ones who first realized that western education is the bedrock of any given society especially the black race. Today, African man has undergone a horrendous journey in search of the proverbial Golden fleece to better both himself and his Environment. While it was easy for the nouveau rich to expand personal horizon through education and in far away Western nations of the world, the poor black man have had to struggle with whatever he could manage to get quality education for himself or his loved ones.
There is no gainsaying that quality educational pursuit have grown beyond the reach of the common man several years after it was discovered that nothing compares to education in our quest for societal relevance and growth. Today, it cannot be denied that quality education in our clime has plummeted to the chagrin of the citizens and to the shame of our own home grown managers of our common wealth. Successive governments across all levels in Nigeria have only but paid lip service to educational advancements. Behaving true to type as the overlord rather than servant leaders, they have collectively placed our educational system in quandary so much so that so many parents cannot afford to send their wards to more expensive private Institutions of learning but would rather manage with the decay in the less expensive public schools run by the government.
Following from this prism, one would therefore heartily commend the efforts of Governor Ugwuanyi’s trajectories in the educational sector of Enugu State. It must be stated that it is to his credit that massive turn around is being witnessed in the sector state wide. As a man who understands the value of education having gone through the long journey himself, governor Ugwuanyi wasted no time to change the education narrative of Enugu State by appointing just a round peg in a round hole to bring about the desired change in the education sector. The appointment of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology political science graduate, Chief Ikeji Asogwa on the 27th of May 2016 as the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) turned into a magic that was on a mission to bring back the passion and glory of educational pursuit in Enugu State.
Today, Gburu-Gburu is investing heavily in the education sector through the deft approach employed by the indefatigable technocrat, Chief Asogwa in ENSUBEB. Gburu-Gburu has since proven that he is in sync with the time tested assertion of the flamboyant American statesman, Benjamin Franklin who averred that a “man who empties his purse into his hands, no man can take it from him as an investment in knowledge pays the best interest”.
The monumental infrastructural overhaul in the education system since the appointment of chief Ikeje as the ENSUBEB helmsman by Ugwuanyi administration is unprecedented as it is overwhelming. Within the five years he has deftly managed ENSUBEB, so much has taken place in both primary and post primary schools in Enugu State.
ENSUBEB through the administration of Chief Asogwa has been able to renovate and construct 1,034 classroom blocks across the 17 local government areas of the state. Virtually all the communities scattered across these local government areas have at least one classroom block built and equipped with modern teaching facilities to enhance the capacity of both the teachers, the pupils and the students.
The intervention of the ENSUBEB has adequately ensured improved quality assurance of the teaching staff, contemporary teaching techniques, expansion of the curriculum and extra curricula activities of the students and pupils, provision of incentives to both the teachers and students through procurement of educational materials to enhance teaching by the teachers and free uniform materials for pupils and students.
Other interventions to grow the sector includes prompt payments of teachers salaries, quality and aesthetic learning environments and quality competitions among the schools for social and academic growth. Suddenly, Enugu State is turning an uhuru engendering pleasant experiences in educational pursuit courtesy of ENSUBEB and his helmsman, Chief Ikeje Asogwa.
Enugu State is really paving the way for her greater tomorrow through the people oriented driven governor, Rt Honorable Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi. Enugu state is in the hands of God forever.
BIBIANANEKWE NEWS…ADDED…Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”
Written by
© Austin Okechukwu Chijioke.
Public Affairs Commentator.
Media Team Member: Enugu di n’akachukwu movement
